Is my GPA (and rest of profile) good enough?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I want to go to certain colleges, but I also want to be realistic. I have taken a very rigorous course-load (basically the hardest I could have taken). I have never gotten below a B+ as my final grade, but I have gotten about 6 of them (out of 24 classes) throughout my high school career (the rest were A-, A, or A+). My unweighted GPA is about a 3.75 and my weighted is a 4.07. It puts me in the top 10-15% of my class. My high school is a public school that is also known to be pretty prestigious. I am taking the SAT in September and October, and I am aiming for a 1470+. My extracurriculars are also better than most kids in my school, as I have acquired leadership in almost everything I do (captain of varsity sport, lead mentor, head commissioner of a basketball league, manager of a XC team, secretary of student body, for examples). I am almost always doing something. And a few other things I do with music (such as school choir, church choir, a select a cappella group, and theater). My essay and teacher recommendations are also very good (so I have been told). I know that only the admissions officers can determine whether or not I will be admitted, but I was just wondering that with my profile (I’m also a white male), if I would have a shot at any of these schools, or if I should just not even bother applying:

Brown
Notre Dame
USC
Emory (might run track there)
UNC (out of state)
UVA (out of state)
Northeastern
NYU (might run track there)
Boston University

I know some of these are different types of schools, but I have looked into each one thoroughly and definitely would love to attend any of them. Also, this seems like a lot, and I probably won’t apply to all of these, I just want to get an idea if I would have little to no chance at any of them. And of course I have my safety and target schools, I was just wondering if these were “too much” of a reach, or if they are attainable.

2

Also, would UMiami be considered a target school?

3

These are all reach schools for most applicants. It’s just the way admissions is today. Make sure you apply to some targets and a safety or two. I would think Miami would be a target.

You may have some leverage at Emory and NYU if you run track. Not sure about that. Just know these are all tough admits.

Definitely apply. No problem there but have realistic expectations (and other options based on your fit: major, type of school, location, cost, etc)

Good luck!

4

@rickle1 thanks! Yeah that’s true, due to how many competitive applicants there are, it makes sense that all of those would be reaches. But I’ll most likely apply and hope for the best, with also some good safety schools and match schools just in case I don’t get into any.